


Grey Area

by Sarcasm_At_Its_Finest



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Addiction, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asexual Armin Arlert, Bullying, Carla is depressed, Confessions, Death, Depression, Drugs, Dysfunctional Family, Endgame Levi/Eren Yeager, Eren Is a Little Shit, Eren is a super dork, Eren loves to sing, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Guilt, Hanji Zoe is an art teacher, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Junior Levi, Kenny is a dick and other things, LEVI AND EREN DONT DIE I PROMISE, Levi is a super softy when hes not a dick, Levi is a teacher assistant, Levi is a vegetarian, Levi is too cute, Levi lives with Kenny, Levi plays piano, M/M, MIA dads, Minor Jean Kirstein/Eren Yeager, Minor Mikasa Ackerman/Annie Leonhart, Relationship Problems, Sassy Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Smut....eventually, Stupid Crushes, Tag As I Go, Unrequited Love, Violence, bad breakups, bad step-parents, freshman eren, lots of fluff, lots of swearing, stupidly slow build, their so dense I sware, they smoke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 13:46:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6118282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarcasm_At_Its_Finest/pseuds/Sarcasm_At_Its_Finest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren needed a change, something new in his miserable life where he watched his mother slowly waste away day by day. This was a new school, a chance to make something out of himself. Maybe he could pull his mother out of the darkness she lived in and find his own identity along the way.</p>
<p>Levi hated complicated things. He always took comfort in simplicity, especially when his life was so hectic and confusing already. He just wanted control of his life, to run away from an Uncle that didn't understand him, from the people at school, from everything.</p>
<p>No one could see the future that lay ahead but with all their black and white misery, came a grey area.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

As the snow fell and numbed the tip of their fingers, time seemed like it was slipping away too fast. Like every moment was something to be treasured, as if the world would end tomorrow. And in some way, Eren felt like it would. The snow that made the ground such a pure white would melt away, the bare trees would grow its leaves and this feeling in his chest would disappear as fast as it had came. He didn't want tomorrow to come, wished that he could stay in this moment forever and watch the snow flakes melt on their skin. Eren didn't want to believe this was happiness. He knew how hope worked, how it made you believe in something so desperately just to drown in the disappointment that hope always brought.

But, as he sat next the very thing that made him doubt everything hes ever known, Eren couldn't help but hope for a tomorrow. As long as there was the slightest chance he could feel the way his heart beat fast, feel his warmth in his hand and the lightness of his head on his shoulder, he would risk the disappointment and regret. For once, Eren didn't think about anything, only of the way their skin touched and how their breath misted in the winter breeze. Everything else meant nothing to him, tuned out by the wind and the other mans voice.

It petrified him, his willingness to throw everything he was away just for this man. He was petrified of how easy it was, to fall so hard with no fear of the pain he would feel when he came crashing down and back to reality.

They were so young and had so much left of their lives. They couldn't guaranty how this would end, knowing all too well how nothing lasted forever. But for once, they didn't care.


	2. Like he was miserable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "In time you will see how beautiful you are"

It was gloomy, just like every other day in this small town. The sun hung low in the grey sky and the roads still glistening from the previous rain shower earlier in the day. Cars, that Erens sure hes seen a thousand times, pass by him as he walked down Main street. The cold breeze on his skin makes his shiver underneath his thick coat. The warm days of summer are gone and September was approaching with the promise of a cold fall. It wasn't like Eren expected anything different, the North always froze over in the late months. Eren came up to a familiar apartment and trudged up the long narrow wooden stairs to the second floor, letting himself in and setting down the bags he had been carrying onto the kitchen counter.  


"Mom, I got the milk and eggs like you asked" Eren call out in the empty apartment, placing the food in the fridge. He heard a shuffle in the other room and his mother came out, already dressed in her work clothes.  


"Oh thanks Hun, I would have done it myself but someone from work called in sick so I'll be working late tonight" She sighed and kissed him softly on the forehead.  


"Your working late again" Eren frowned and reached out to fix her shirt, which she must have buttoned up in a rush.  


Her eyes turned sad and flicked Erens hand away to fix her shirt herself. "I know I'm sorry, I wish I could stay home and help you prepare for tomorrow and all, but you know how work is" of course I know how work is, Eren thought to himself bitterly, "Anyways, there should be something here to eat, just make sure you clean up after yourself. You know how Kevin gets when you leave a mess" she fussed, giving Eren another peck in the forehead and began looking around for her keys.  


"I know Mom" Eren sighed and picked up her keys which lay in the same spot she left them everyday, yet never remembering where she had put them. She quickly thanked him as he handed her the keys and gave him a quick hug. "Love you, have a nice day at work" Eren mumbled into her soft brown hair and watched as she hurried out the door.  


"Loved you too pie" she called out before closing the door behind her. Eren could never understand why his mother called him by her silly nickname for him and when he would ask, she would simply say 'cause your so sweet my love'.  


Eren sighed and let the silence of their small apartment sink in. It was like this everyday, his Mother worked late at her shitty job as a waitress, making close to nothing, and Eren was left alone at home, waiting for his mother's boyfriend to come home and flee to his room for the night. Eren walked into his room and began to search through his dresser to find his clothes for tomorrow. It would be Eren's first day of high school, the day that he'd been waiting for the past four years. He hated school, just like every other teenager, but he couldn't help but hope that the next four years would change his life. He hated the sense of helplessness that clouded him everyday. He wanted to become independent and help his mom with the bills.  


Eren also feel into a terrible loneliness over the summer, making him even more eager for tomorrow. He missed his friends, especially Armin and Mikasa, his closest friends that hes know since he was very young. Every summer Armin would go to visit his family in California and Mikasa, basically Eren's sister from a different mister, played on several sports teams and rarely had time to spare in the summer. He was looking forward to seeing them, along with all this other friends.  


After discarding a few outfits, Eren decided to go with a simple gray sweater and black skinny jeans with his favorite navy blue converse that he wore way too often. He placed the clothes aside for tomorrow and headed for the bathroom to shower. It had already been around 6:30 or so when his mother had left so Kevin should be getting home soon. Eren would always try his best to avoid the man at all cost, with Kevin being a complete dick and all.  


Eren used to love the guy when he first stole his moms heart. Kevin would be so nice to her, buying her roses and always making her smile. He would bring Eren to the park to teach him how to play baseball and all that step dad crap. Eren even remembers picking out his mothers engagement ring with Kevin at the mall and watching him propose to her in the kitchen as she was making nacho salad. It was a nice memory, one that Eren keep close to his heart. She was the happiest he had ever seen her then, her warm smile and light laughter always filled our home.  


But, that was seven years ago and a lot has happened since then. Over the time, Kevin had grown cold and short tempered, fights became a common event and his mother grew dull and absent. Even on the rare occasions when she didn't have work, shes wasn't really home. Sure she was sitting in our living room but her mind was else where. Eren grew to hate Kevin and his snarky attitude, waiting for the day when he would finally leave.  


Eren was just finishing up washing the shampoo out of his hair when he had heard the front door slam shut. He cursed quietly to himself and hurried to finish and dry off. Eren could hear Kevin's heavy foot steps as he listen through the bathroom door. Eren heard him walk through the living room and stop in the kitchen to open the fridge. There was clinking of a beer bottle and the loud footsteps returning to the living room and to the couch. 'Fuck, ok Eren its fine just don't look at him' Eren took a deep breath and opened the bathroom door and made his retreat to his room.  


Kevin glared up at Eren as he passed, beer bottle to his lips, and chuckle darkly. 'Ugh I hated him and his stupid voice' Eren scrunched his noise in disgust. He closed the door to his room, made sure it was locked, and flopped onto his bed. Eren closed his eyes and tired to block out the sounds of the tv coming from the livingroom. After a moment he felt his phone vibrate from under the blankets and shifted around to find it. The bright light of the phone screen lit up my dark room and Eren flipped to his messages.

1 new message from Coconut  
4 new messages from Mika 

From Coconut 6:51pm  
EREN!! ARE YOU EXCITED FOR TOMORROW  


From Mika 6:40pm  
Hey just got back from practice  


From Mika 6:45pm  
Hellooo  


From Mika 6:49pm  
I hate when you don't answer me  


From Mika 7:00pm  
ARE YOU DEAD ANSWER ME FUCKER  


Eren chuckled at Mikasa's impatience and decided to answer Armin first, just to piss of Mikasa a little more.  


To Coconut 7:02pm  
Yes and no. Im not looking forward to getting up early but Im so bored of summer so yea.  


To Mika 7:05pm  
Yea sorry slipped in the shower and drowned.  


From Mika 7:06pm  
Well thats unfortunate, here I had this HUGE important thing I was going to tell him but he went and died OH WELLLL  


To Mika 7:06pm  
Wait WHAT tell meeeee  


From Mika 7:08pm  
But your dead so I cant tell you  


To Mika 7:09pm  
WOMAN TELL ME  


From Coconut 7:11pm  
haha almost forgot you weren't a morning person. Mine was fun but I have had my full of sandy beaches and sun tans.  


To coconut 7:13pm  
Ugh why cant I go to California all summer, Im hiding in your gramps trunk next time you go  


From Coconut 7:14pm  
Lol Honestly Eren you would hate the hot weather  


To Coconut 7:17pm  
tru Im a whore for the cold  


From Mika 7:21pm  
Okay fine so I met this girl today, her names Annie and shes a sophomore in high school and well shes like low key super hot and she gave me her number and I may or may not be texting her right now  


To Mika 7:25pm  
HOLY SHIT MY MIKASA FOUND A WOMAN I MUST MEET HER TOMORROW  


From Mika 7:30pm  
Shut up, theres nothing going on yet but we will see and maybe  


From coconut 7:45pm  
Well I gtg, grampa needs me to help him clean up after dinner so Ill see you tomorrow  


To Coconut 7:49pm  
Sleep tight my little coconut!  


From Coconut 7:52pm  
STOP CALLING ME THAT  


To Mika 8:01pm  
im going to bed, have nice dreams about your girlfriend  


From Mika 8:04pm  
UGHHH your so annoying bye  


Eren chuckled to himself and scrolled through tumblr for what was only suppose to be five minutes. He swore he was only going to let himself look for few minutes but you know how tumblr is, once you go one your sucked right in, losing all concept of time and sleep. Eren put his phone on the charger after finding the will power to set it down and set his alarm so he wouldn't over sleep.  


With a sigh, Eren snuggled into his blankets and tried to will himself to sleep. He frown when he heard a loud thump and the slamming of the door to his moms room. Eren sighed , for the 100th time that day and pulled the sheets over his head. He stared at the dark fabric of his blankets, wishing for sleep to come easy tonight. It doesn't like usual.  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


The house was quite the next morning, which wasn't that much of a surprise to Eren. Light was just starting to creeping through the windows as he dragged himself lazily out of bed, rubbing his tired eyes. His body had grown used to sleeping late into the afternoon during the summer and every part of him was screaming at him to go back to bed. When Eren unwillingly shuffled to the kitchen, he spotted his mother asleep on the recliner in the living room. Her head hung flow on her shoulder and a small blanket was draped halfheartedly over her legs. She was still in her work clothes from the day before, having food stains on the shirt and a heavy smell of grease. It wasn't uncommon for Eren to find her to pass out in the living room, either it being because she decided to watch TV late into the night or she and Kevin had had an argument. Based on the commotion late the night before, Eren was assuming is was the later.  


Eren quietly made himself breakfast, trying not to wake his mother, and ate staring out the kitchen window as the sun rose. Eren could feel the lack of sleep laying on him heavily, knowing all too well how exhausted he was going to feel later in the day. He just hoped he wouldn't fall asleep during class on the first day. Wouldn't exactly be the best first impression.  


After cleaning up after himself he went off to get dress, trying to comb his unruly hair, and gathered his things. Eren placed a soft kiss on his mother cheek, whispering goodbye before he walked out of the house to start his day.

It wasn't long until Armin found Eren waiting for him in front of the school. "Eren!" Armin yelled, waving at him excitedly as Eren chuckled and pulled Armin into a tight hug.  


"Its good to see you" Eren smiled down at his little blond haired friend, noticing the light tan he had gotten in California. Despite being there all summer, it was only a slight difference on his normally pale skin. Armin never darkened much, no matter how long hes in the sun. Eren couldn't even imagine what the little twerp would look like with a full tan.  


"You too, Iv miss your idiotic rambling" Armin smirked and Eren punched him playfully on the shoulder.  


"Hey! Im not an idiot you shrimp!" Eren frowned, faking an angry tone making Armin pout and hold onto his damaged arm.  


"You hurt me!" Armin whined, making puppy eyes up at Eren with his sparkling baby blue eyes.  


"Oh shut up you baby" Eren rolled his eyes and flicked the Armin's forehead "that's what you get for being mean".  


"Its not my fault I'm so much smarter then you" Armin sassed with a hand on his hop, causing Eren to gasped dramatically with his hand over his mouth. A girl with long dark hair and steely eyes walked up to the two boys and examined their exchange with an unimpressed frown.  


"Do you guys ever stop acting like your five" she sighed shaking her head slightly at the two. Armin and Eren smiled at her, both saying no in unison and begin laughing again at themselves.  


"How was your summer Mikasa?" Armin asked, after gaining control over himself and wiping the tears from his eyes. She was about to answer but Eren interrupted her abruptly.  


"Of course her was fabulous, she hung out with her new girlfriend" Eren smirked, dragging out his last word dramatically. Mikasa glared and swatted at Eren angrily, demanding for him to shut up.  


"Girlfriend WHAT!?"Armin yelled with wide eyes. Mikasa groaned, muttering profanities into the red scarf she always had draped around her neck.  


"First of all, she is NOT my girlfriend. I just met her" Mikasa huffed, but both of the boys could see the slight blush on the girls pale skin. "Second of all, you guys need to shut up and stop being so embarrassing! What if someone hears you, what if Annie had heard you!" Mikasa barked, glaring at the boys. Eren and Armin eyes turned wide in shock and Mikasa looked at them in confusion. Had she been too mean? No she thought to herself, shes done much worse. Mikasa was about to ask what in the world was wrong with them when someone suddenly interrupted her.  


"What if I had heard what?" A voice came from behind Mikasa, one she instantly recognized. Armin and Eren both looked at each other and back to Mikasa's horrified expression when the warning bell rang for class. Mikasa turned back to the voice behind her, which had indeed came from Annie, a blonde haired girl with a look that told everyone to fuck off, and Armin and Eren booked it. Mikasa yelled out at them as Armin and Eren ran, laughing the whole way.  


It wasn't hard for Eren to find his way around the new school. The layout was pretty simple after you stopped panicking, like a chicken without its head, and just took a step back. Eren had also been able to snag of the campus so yea, that helped. He had only really gotten lost trying to find his math class, which had been hidden away in a small side hall that Eren had by passed maybe ten times. Lucky, a tall muscular blonde, who looked a Caption America with too much eyebrow game, showed Eren where to go. Eren couldn't remember his name for the life of him, he could only remember that he was a senior or something like that.  


The day had gone by relativity smoothly for Eren. Finding out he had biology with Armin and math and gym with Mikasa, by the time lunch rolled around, Eren was in a great mood. Mikasa, Armin and Eren had walked into the cafeteria, scanning the rows of tables for anyone familiar. Eren vaguely remembered having English with Marco, and old friend from middle school, who had mention something about us sitting with him and his group but Eren couldn't spot him anywhere.  


Just as they were about to give up and sit at one of the empty tables, a brown haired girl crashed into Eren, sending him flying. Somehow, as they fell, the girl managed to prevent her and Erens food from spilling everywhere, holding the trays in her hands like they were precious babies.  


"Holy shit Sasha, you scared the shit out of me!" Eren chuckled, recognizing the girl after he had recovered from the accident. Sasha smiled brightly at him, handing his tray back and motioning for the three to follow her.  


"There you guys are, we've been trying to find you three!, come on, the groups this way" she directed us through the maze of crowded lunch tables to the back of the cafeteria. There was a large group gathered together, who had at one point joined two of the tables together to fit everyone. Eren recognized most of them from middle school. Connie, a short shaved head idiot known for his unruly pranks and of course Sasha who was a maniac for anything edible. Historia, a petite blond girl with a sweet personality sat closely to Ymir, a tanned girl with a stony personality and a sassy remark saved for everyone and everything other than Historia. Marco, an angel sent from the heavens with his freckled cheeks and dark hair, was talking cheerfully to Jean, the devil with two toned hair and a temper that clashed terribly with Erens. There were others sitting at the table, one Eren had noticed to be the Annie girl Mikasa had a not so small crush on. The rest, who Eren had never seen before, must be Annie's friends.  


"Look what the cat dragged in" Connie said as we took are seats, Mikasa taking the seat by Annie and Eren and Armin sitting by Historia.  


"Oh its so nice to see you guys~" Historia said sweetly, then suddenly sent a glare over to Eren. "you mister" she said, pointing her tiny hot pink painted finger at him, "hadn't texted me all summer you butt head" she huffed, crossing her arms and pulling her lip into a pout.  


"Isnt she cute when shes mad" Ymir commented, making Historia blush and roll her eyes. After sending Ymir a glare, she directed her attention back to Eren, waiting patiently for his response.  


"Im sorry, you know how I get in the summers" Eren smiled apologetically, feeling generally guilty for not keeping in touch.  


"yea too busy sleeping" Jean smirked, flicking a pea in Erens direction, hitting him right on the nose. Eren turned to Jean, sending daggers his way.  


"oh shut it horseface. How was your summer? Did you have fun galloping through the fields, eating hay and taking massive shits?" Eren spit back. Jean whole face turned beat red and glared at Eren as the rest of the tabled laughed at there exchange.  


"Now girls, lets not get your panties in a bunch" Mikasa said, giving each a warning with her signature glare. Eren rolled his eyes and slumped in his seat, playing with the rest of his food like a child. Jean, whose face was five times redder now, if that was even possible, ate glared down at his food like it had just killed his parents. Eren and Jean always had a rather rocky relationship. Either they were chill and hanging out like best friends or at each others throats throwing insults around. Eren noticed Marco whispering something into Jeans ear, trying to calm him down. Eren had noticed the two becoming close over the last two years, hanging out in and outside of school frequently. Eren was convinced that there was something going on between to the two, but whenever he would ask Jean would dismissed the question and call him an idiot.  


The rest of lunch went by uneventful. At one point, Annie had introduced her friends to the three, mainly Mikasa, and everyone fell into causal conversations about their summers. Eren wasn't too sure about two of Annies friends, Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about them made the hairs in the back if his neck stand up.  


It was when Eren was making his way to his last period when the exhaustion hit him. It felt like he had boulders on his shoulders, trudging through water down the school halls. Luckily, Eren's last period was the class he had been looking forward to all day, Art. At least the class wouldn't be filled with useless information about history that would lull him to sleep.  


With a sigh of relief, Eren stepped into his last period class, momentarily taken back by the sight. The room was large with tables scattered about, artwork placed anywhere there was free space. Paintings and other medias hung on the walls, pieces that stunned Eren with how beautiful they were. Strings of lights traced the ceiling, illuminated the room like stars in the night and reflecting magically against the art around room. The whole atmosphere put Erens nerves at ease, finally away from the harsh florescent lights that always gave him a headache. Everything fit so perfectly together and even with so much stuff everywhere, the room didn't feel cramped at all. Everything had a place and Eren could tell the room was cleaned regularly, no stains or grim in sight despite it being an art room. The room even smelled clean, a calming mix of lavender and wood.

After Eren regained himself, he took a seat at one of the empty tables. He was still taking in the sight as people began to file in and take there seats. Eren was pulled out of his trance when by a loud booming voice filled the room.  


"Hello class!" a woman with pulled back reddish brown hair and glasses smiled excitedly, seeming to be bouncing on her feet with energy. She examined the room with bright eyes, taking in all the faces of her students. "Look at all these cutie. I just want to eat all you up!" She fused, smirking at the worried faces of some of the students. "My name is Mrs. Zoe, but you can call me Hanji. Iv never been fond of such formalities. Anyhow, welcome to my art room and I look forward to getting to know you guys over the next few years" She paused, motioning over toward the corner on the room where a dark haired boy was sitting.  


"Now" she said clapping her hands together "this is my teacher assistant, Levi Ackerman, some of you may already know him. If you ever need a little help or need to know were something is, dont be afraid to ask him."  


Eren could still hear Mrs. Zoe rambling but her words fell to deaf ears as Eren examined Levi with curiosity. He looked older, maybe a junior or senior, and had dark raven hair that was cut in a strange undercut. Almost like Jeans but longer in the front, laying neatly on the sides of his face. His skin was flawless, pale like Mikasas skin, and stuck out under his dark hair. He had feminine features in his face and a defined jaw, thin lips, and piercing stormy grey eyes. He had a smaller structure, Eren figured maybe a foot shorter then himself, and defined muscles under his dark clothing. He was petite, a figure that most girls would be jealous of, but he looked anything but weak. Eren thought the man looked beautiful in a way that he had never appreciated before.  


Levi was so different in Erens eyes and he couldn't bring himself to look away from him. It wasnt his body that made Eren curious, though his body was pretty distracting, but his expression. Levi's face was stitched in a hard scowl and his lips turned downward into a frown. He looking bored, pissed and miserable all at the same time. Eren wanted to know what made this man look so... so sad.  


Eren was startled when those grey eyes flicked over toward his direction, sensing someone had been staring. Eren had quickly looked down to his hands when Levis eyes met his, heat flaring on his cheeks. Eren felt embarrassed for being caught staring and silently cursed himself for being weird. He took a deep breath to calm himself and tried to catch on to whatever Mrs. Zoes was still going on about. Eren tried to keep himself from looked back to Levi, but he couldn't help but let his eyes wonder in his direction from time to time. As time passed, Erens eye started to grow heavy and he found it hard to keep them open as Mrs. Zoe talked. He wanted to pay attention but he was just so tired and she kept going on and on. Eren found himself folding his arms on the table and resting his head, just to close his eyes for a minute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See this ones much longer like I promised. I need a BETAA!!! comments and kudos are appreciated and sorry for any mistakes XD next chapter maybe out by next week cause well school sucks

**Author's Note:**

> Heyy, sorry the first chapter is short but the rest of the chapters are much longer. I don't have a beta so sorry if there's any mistakes. I'll be posting the next chapter tomorrow or next weekend. Kudos and comments are always appreciated and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.


End file.
